George Chapman - Physical Medium & Healer

ABOUT THE PHYSICAL MEDIUM AND HEALER

GEORGE CHAPMAN

George
Chapman came across as a medium with a strictly no-nonsense approach,
and his feet firmly on the ground. Furthermore, despite the attention
that could be derived from his accomplishments, he has chosen rather to
quietly devote himself to his healing work. In fact, in view of what he
has achieved, not only in healing but in providing evidence of
survival, he is undoubtedly a medium who stands out prominently in the
sphere of twentieth century mediumship. One recognition of this was gaining the 'Spiritualist of 1975' award, presented to him by Harry Edwards.

George William Chapman was born in Bootle
on 4 February 1921. After the death of his mother when he was five
years old, he was brought up by his grandparents, during the time of
the Great Depression. After leaving school at the age of fourteen,
employment was scarce although he managed to secure a number of
different occupations, e.g. garage attendant, professional boxer and
docker, before joining the Irish Guards. He was then transferred to the
Royal Air Force and also served in the Royal Navy.

George
recalls that by about this time: 'Apart from a keen interest in animals
and a natural ability to nurse them back to health, there were no signs
in the first twenty-five years of my life that I would become a
healer'.(1) After marrying Margaret in 1944, Vivian, their daughter was
born a year later. However, only a short time after her birth, George
and Margaret were told that she would not survive, and only four weeks
later she died. At this point, George was confronted with the questions
faced by those in a similar position, e.g. how such a thing could
happen. Nonetheless, on reflection, he views this as a turning point in
his life: 'For the first time I began to think seriously about the
possibility of an after-life...I asked as many people as I could.
Clergymen, to my dismay, were of little help apart from warning me not
to dabble with the supernormal'.(2)

Despite
the all-too-obvious lack of information about survival, George
continued his quest to find answers; it was after being de-mobbed and
starting work in May 1946 as a fire officer with the Aylesbury Fire
Brigade, that the first indications of an answer began to appear. With
another officer, he passed away the time between call-outs, using an
upturned glass and alphabet, and it duly moved spelling out messages.
Aware that it is argued that such communication only arises through the
subconscious mind of the sitters, George's conclusion was that,
'sometimes the content of the messages was so astounding that this
theory could be instantly ruled out'.(3) George also tested this mode
of communication with his wife and when he did so, messages from his
mother, about whom he knew little, were received; on investigation of
what was being relayed, he discovered that the communicator could only
be his mother. One item of information received was that she was now
caring for Vivian.

Prompted
by what was happening, the next step in George's progress was
developing trance mediumship, sitting for three hours each day. In
these periods he accomplished astral travel and made contact with both
his mother and Vivian. In view of what was taking place, George began
to meet with other persons interested in the subject; on these
occasions he would become entranced and a number of regular
communicators would make themselves known. With these, one
communicator, who would change George's life, spoke to those who were
present: he gave his name as Dr Lang.

Following
up what George had already been told on a number of occasions, i.e.
that he possessed healing powers, Dr Lang advised George that his
mediumship would relate to the work of healing, and furthermore, he
would have the principal role in George's activity. The significant
feature about Dr Lang was that, unlike many other guides and controls
whose pre-mortem existence cannot be verified, he had lived in Britain
in the twentieth century, and George therefore went to great lengths to
verify this. George argues that verification of identity is of major
importance: 'The spirit communicator should speak as near as possible
to the way he spoke on earth, using the same phrases and mannerisms and
manifesting personal characteristics. He should be able to give dates,
names and details of his earthly experiences that can be verified, and
be able to discuss intimate matters with relatives and colleagues still
on earth'.(4) And indeed, George reports that, 'William Lang, however,
satisfied all my demands', and he was able to contact people, both
colleagues of Dr Lang and the people whom he had treated, and, 'they
confirmed it was the same Dr Lang they had known'.(5)From
this time, George has gathered together information about the life of
Dr Lang and demonstrated the continuity between the surgeon and his own
mediumship. One incident that he describes is when a Dr Singer heard
that a 'Dr Lang' had been successfully treating people suffering from
cancer and made an appointment to see George: Singer was in fact
suffering from cancer himself. On walking into George's healing
sanctuary, he was quite unaware that the 'Dr Lang' working through
George was the very same Dr Lang who had taught him at MiddlesexHospital
many years previously. But this suddenly changed when Dr Lang spoke
through the entranced George, and greeted Singer with the words: 'Hello
my dear boy, I am happy to see you again'.(6) George has supplied many
examples of when a person, who knew Dr Lang before he died, has
recognized him in George's mediumship.

In
time, more requests were made to George for healing, and eventually
these came from abroad. Not wishing to leave his family that by now
included his two children, Michael and Lana, George attempted to
initially work while remaining in this country. This in itself caused
problems as: 'One of the penalties of being well known is that people
find out where you live and turn up on your doorstep, without an
appointment, expecting to receive healing on the spot'.(7)Some
of those who unexpectedly arrived at George's home in Aylesbury even
included those who had travelled from abroad. A number of these had
seen many healers but there had been no improvement in their health. In
the case of one person who saw George after flying from Morocco
and was seeking help for her daughter Isabelle, 'what impressed her
about Dr Lang was that he was the first healer who did not promise to
cure Isabelle. All he said was that he would do his best'.(8)

In
view of the number of requests for healing from those living in Europe,
George established clinics in various European locations, and began to
travel to treat people requiring Dr Lang's assistance, e.g. Germany,
Switzerland, Spain and the United States of America. In fact, by the
close of 1974, he had been referred to as 'England's
most travelled healer'. George relates how his life has involved hectic
travelling between cities in different countries, and because of
patients submitting progress reports, he needed typists and
translators; his working 'day' often went into the early hours of the
morning. One of the reasons for working abroad was the fact that he
became aware that it was primarily only the wealthy who could travel to
England
to benefit from Dr Lang's skill: by setting up clinics abroad, this
ensured those who were not in such an advantageous position could also
benefit. Accounts of George's work appeared in Psychic News; one
eyewitness told Maurice Barbanell that she had seen spirit operations
carried out by Dr Lang on over a hundred people. These included a boy
deemed to be an imbecile, who after treatment by Dr Lang, appeared to
be enjoying virtual normality as he left the consulting room. Patients
suffering from cataracts, glaucoma, arthritis and a host of other
ailments were successfully treated by Dr Lang through George's
mediumship.(9)

Dr
Lang's achievements are not restricted to treating human illness; his
work has also included animals, e.g. Fella, a guide dog, who,
ironically, suffered from cataracts, and was successfully healed. One Paris
vet, who was so impressed with the improvement in his own health after
contacting George, began to send his own cats to him for treatment. In
fact, animals benefiting from Georges presence go back to the days of
his early childhood: as a young boy in the Bootle
area he was energetic in caring for injured/stray animals during the
years of the Depression. On realizing the extent of animal suffering,
he began to run errands and use the money earned to feed the animals
for which he was caring.Due to his perseverance, this
eventually led to him running his own sanctuary in someone's cellar in
return for doing the owner's shopping and cleaning. The result was:
'People began to talk about the boy who undertook any errand or job to
earn a few coppers to buy food for his stray cats and dogs, and who put
splints on their limbs and nursed them when he found them injured'.
Indeed: 'To this day, some of the people in Bootle talk about the unselfish boy who nursed animals with such tenderness'.(10)

It
is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to know which of the
healings effected by Dr Lang working through George, can be cited,
simply because there are so many from which to choose. Therefore, the
following are selected at random. One, in October 1974, when Dr Lang
treated Mme. Gutowski for poor blood circulation and a fibroid (a non-
malignant tumour in the womb), brought about unexpected results. Five
months later she wrote to George saying: 'Dr Lang told me I would be
healed by December 26th... Not only was his prediction correct but
there has been a bonus. As soon as I was healed I became pregnant, and
I am expecting a baby during the first week of October 1975'.(11)In
1974, a physician directed Joseph Tanguy to George. This young man was
suffering from a malignant tumour in the brain, and after an
unsuccessful operation was told that he had only six months to live.
Distant healing was commenced immediately and was followed up by a
spirit operation by Dr Lang in the December. After two further
consultations, Dr Lang advised that the disease had virtually
disappeared. Five months later at the Raymond-Poincar Hospital, the
young man was examined and 'considerable improvement' was noted. This
continued and his recovery was so noticeable that he was able to resume
full-time work. The conclusion was: 'Eventually, further EEG
[electroencephalograph] examination showed the tumour had completely
disappeared'.(12)The doctor who sent this patient to
George stated in writing: 'I have, therefore, complete trust in sending
to him [Dr Lang] those patients for whom all known therapies have
failed...The healing of M. Tanguy's brain tumour, which had been beyond
all therapeutic resources, is a completely convincing example'. In fact
the same doctor has sent many patients to George, and in fact even did
so as 'a block- booking' without George even knowing what their
ailments were.(13)

A
number of examples of George's healing successes are given by S. G.
Miron, L.D.S., R.C.S. (Eng.), a dental surgeon who wrote in 1957; one
of the cases that he cites was of a young girl suffering from serious
kidney disorder and facing the prospect of the right kidney having to
be removed, although the left one was not working properly either.
After a number of unsuccessful operations, it appeared that her life
expectancy was no more than a year. Miron observed: 'the outlook could
only be described as very bad...one could be honest and say pretty
hopeless from a medical standpoint'. As her health began to rapidly
deteriorate, her parents contacted George and after absent healing,
there was an improvement. This was followed up by contact healing and
in less than a month, her health 'was greatly improved'.

Dr
Lang continued to treat her on a monthly basis and on returning to the
hospital shortly before Miron wrote his book, it was discovered than
her right kidney 'was beginning to function and the left kidney was
functioning practically normally'. Miron's book includes an
introduction written by the Revd William Rose, an Anglican priest who
referred to witnessing George's work and added: 'I emphasize that he
does not work for gain, nor claim any merit...He regards himself as a
servant sent with the Power to heal'.(14)

In
the case of spirit operations carried out by Dr Lang through the
mediumship of George Chapman, a fascinating account is supplied by
Morton B. Jackson, a Californian lawyer: the operation in this instance
was to alleviate the painful condition of rheumatoid sodalities (a
condition that attacks not only the joints, but the ligaments that bind
them). On entering the room where George worked, he related how he saw
George, a man in his forties, who spoke as 'an elderly gentleman', and
'somehow I found no difficulty in accepting the fact that it was
actually Dr Lang with whom, I was conversing...Everything was very easy
and natural'. After a cordial conversation, Dr Lang began his spirit
operation on Jackson, who became: 'aware of the sharp cracking noise of
his snapping fingers occasionally accompanied by instructions to Basil
[Dr Lang's son who died in 1928] and others apparently assisting him.
The nature of the touch, while light, seemed consistent with the
handling and utilisation of invisible instruments...All this while...Dr
Lang explaining, as he went along, what it was he was doing and
why'.(15)

Another
witness to George's mediumship was Lady Barbirolli who was treated by
Dr Lang in April 1972. Of this event, she recorded that after George
had said that he was about to become entranced: 'He seemed to have
become another man, and to have changed in appearance, voice, manner
and age'.(16) During the spirit operations that were carried out by
Dr Lang, it was noticed that he operated with his left hand, while
George is right-handed; furthermore, a tremor was observed. On making
enquiries, it was ascertained that Dr Lang, before he died, did in fact
suffer from tremors, and as this was less of a problem in his left
hand, he tended to use this hand when carrying out surgery.

One
report by Dr John Best described the remarkable healing of a friend's
wife who had been diagnosed as having a thyroid disorder, with only
eight months to live. Best details how after a few visits for contact
healing by Dr Lang, her terminal illness was cured, and she became
active and enjoyed life again. However, as Best's fiancée, Marjorie,
had died not long before this time, he wrote to George and asked
whether he might speak to Dr Lang about the questions that he had
concerning the afterlife.An appointment was arranged
and on entering George's consulting room, the medium was already
entranced and Best noticed that the personality of George, whom he had
met before, was wholly absent and had been replaced by Dr Lang. While
asking Dr Lang questions, that were duly answered, Best was advised
about how he could secure a better communication with Marjorie. Best
followed the advice that he was given, and found that a link was
established in which he had no doubt that he was communicating with his
fiancée.(17)

And
who was William Lang? Firstly, although he was, and is, invariably
addressed as 'Dr Lang', he was actually 'Mr. Lang' in view of being a
surgeon, but through his warm character, most of his patients preferred
to call him 'Doctor'. In the initial stages, George was very anxious to
confirm Dr Lang's identity, and contacted the BMA (British Medical
Association), but it could not confirm his existence due to the lack of
details supplied and the fact that 'Lang' was a common name in the
field of those practicing medicine. However, later, Dr Lang was
speaking with one of George's fire brigade colleagues and he said that
he wanted a book to be written about his healing work, adding that he
had not revealed much information earlier on, as he did not want his
identity to be revealed. He therefore went on to give details about his
life, i.e. he had worked at MiddlesexHospital.
On making enquiries, it was discovered there had indeed been a William
Lang working there as an ophthalmic surgeon between 1880 and 1914.With
this information, the BMA was approached again and it was duly
confirmed that Dr Lang had been a distinguished surgeon and
ophthalmologist. George was still unsure but he reports that, 'over the
months the kind doctor...slowly revealed more about himself which left
us in no doubt'. The life story of William Lang, born on 28 December
1852 in Exeter, only serves to demonstrate his marvellous skill and untiring dedication to the work of healing.

When only eighteen years of age, he entered the LondonHospital
in Whitechapel and then qualified in 1874 as a Member of the Royal
College of Surgeons. Five years later, he became a Fellow. In time, he
developed an interest in sight, and became the assistant surgeon to the
CentralLondonOphthalmicHospital (later MoorfieldsEyeHospital),
at the age of twenty-seven. His achievements included several
publications of important works regarding ophthalmology, and with
others, founded the Ophthalmological Society. It would be impossible to
deal with, or even list all of his accomplishments herein; however, an
indication of his high- standing is given by testimonials reproduced in
Surgeon From Another World, together with other details
concerning his extraordinary abilities.(18) After Susan, his first
wife, died in 1892, he married Isabel; his joy was made manifest in
Basil, his son, who became a distinguished surgeon and often worked
with his father. However, Basil died in 1928 after developing
pneumonia, and the world and hopes of Dr Lang, collapsed; he then
retired to Crowborough and died there on 13 July 1937, aged
eighty-four.

In
the obituary notice for William Lang, his abilities were praised and
there is reference to the deep respect with which he was held: he was a
man, 'always good tempered, always courteous, always full of sound
advice'. But what is most striking is the amazing conclusion to this
notice:- 'When we all foregather in the Elysian fields there will be
one pleasure that we wish - to see him again perform...'.(19) While the
writers were entirely correct in thinking that Dr Lang would continue
his healing work after his death, little did they realize that he would
do this in the present world. It is interesting to note that in his
childhood, Dr Lang had witnessed paranormal phenomena in the family
home and his father had told the young William these were caused by
unseen persons: 'They are spirits', he would say, 'and there is nothing
to be afraid of...they just come to visit us, to be around and help
us'. Later on, the idea of life after death became a subject of great
interest to him and it was often a topic of discussion with other
academic colleagues who shared the same interest.(20)Surely
one of the most important statements concerning Dr Lang's continuing
activity through George, is the one made by his own daughter, Marie
Lyndon Lang: 'an active and very well-educated woman with a
level-headed approach to life and death' . After meeting George, and
seeing him regularly for many years, and speaking with Dr Lang while
George was entranced, she was only too willing to make the following
crucial statement: 'I can truthfully say the William Lang who operates
via the body of George Chapman is, without a doubt, my father'.(21) In
addition to speaking with her father through George's mediumship, she
was also able to do this with her mother and Basil. George regularly
met Dr Lang's daughter together with a group of friends and medical
contemporaries of Basil Lang, who also knew William Lang, and they
'questioned and tested' both George and Dr Lang. Of these occasions, Dr
Lang's daughter stated: 'We could only come to one conclusion: that the
person who speaks through George Chapman and claims to be William Lang
is, without a doubt, my father...It is a fact that William Lang, my
father, is as much alive today'.(22) Noteworthy is the fact that it was
Dr Lang's daughter and this group of persons who encouraged George to
take up healing full-time, which he did in 1957.Confidence
is also expressed by the Revd Allan Barham, a experienced member of
the SPR and Churches' Fellowship for Psychical and Spiritual Studies.
On meeting George, he observed that the man with whom he spoke when
George was entranced, 'had the appearance, voice and mannerisms of an
elderly doctor of a generation earlier. He was obviously a cultured man
with an extensive vocabulary'. Moreover, Barham remarked on how he
understood, 'that a number of William Lang's former colleagues
recognised him in George Chapman when the latter was in trance, and
would meet him regularly...Sometimes they would even bring their
patients for consultation and treatment'.(23)

An excellent review of George's work is supplied by Joe Bernard Hutton in his very readable Healing Hands
that has already been cited. The book was first published in 1966 and
has been reprinted several times as well as being translated into
several languages.Hutton begins his account by
describing how in 1963 his doctor advised him that he was suffering
from poliomyelitis. Hutton, a journalist, had suffered poor eyesight
for most of his life, and from 1958 had been under the care of a
leading ophthalmic specialist, but in 1963 he was faced with the dire
prospect of becoming blind. He had already been told by his specialist
that without certain complex operations, he would become permanently
blind. However, due to the risk element, he had decided not to undergo
the operations. By 1963, clear signs of this awful reality had begun to
appear, i.e. a person standing just ten yards way was no more than 'an
indistinct outline'. One day his wife passed him a copy of Psychic
News, and asked him to read a certain article; only with tremendous
difficulty and great discomfort did he manage to read the article: this
described 'some remarkable happenings in Aylesbury', relating to a Dr
Lang working through George Chapman.

Hutton's wife implored him to 'give it a try', and it was with only the
greatest of reluctance did he consent. An appointment was made to see
Dr Lang, and Hutton travelled to George's home. On entering the
consulting room, the first thing that struck Hutton on seeing George
were the 'wrinkles and lines...of true old age, but I knew Chapman was
in his early forties'. Dr Lang introduced himself ('Even the voice
sounded old'), and on holding Hutton's spectacles, still having not
opened his eyes, Dr Lang remarked on Hutton's poor eyesight and that
the spectacles were classified as minus eighteen. He then went on to
comment on a childhood splint operation that had been carried out on
his eyes. Hutton records: 'I was astounded. How could he have known
this? Not even Pearl, my wife, knew.
I never spoke about it. In fact I hadn't even thought about it for
years'. Dr Lang made no promises except that he would do his best: he
began examining Hutton and referred to the diagnosis of poliomyelitis
and the existence of a hepatitis virus. At this, Hutton said: 'If I had
been amazed before, I was speechless now. I had not told Chapman
anything about my own doctor...nor had I mentioned being ill. Yet here
was the medium, telling me something that only my own doctor and my
wife could possibly have known. And neither had been in touch with
George Chapman. It was uncanny'.

Hutton
then details how Dr Lang explained what he was about to do and said
that he would operate with the assistance of Basil and other
colleagues: 'He came across to the edge of the couch and then lifted
his hands and started to move them, and flick his fingers just above my
eyes. His own eyes stayed tightly closed. The fingers of his hands
opened and shut as though taking and using instruments'. Hutton
comments that after Dr Lang had explained what he had done, that:
'Incredible as it may seem, I began to experience the physical
sensation of incisions bring made. They were painless, but none the
less capable of being felt. The man's eyes never opened, and he did not
touch me'. Further surgery was carried out, at this point for the
virus, and yet again, Hutton could feel instruments being used, albeit
painless. On sitting up, he was concerned to find that he could barely
see and Dr Lang, recognizing this, reassured him that this was merely a
temporary phase. On not being able to even guide himself out of the
consulting room, the receptionist guided Hutton's exit and he groped
his way to the car and waited for his wife to return to drive them both
home.There, he recorded that he sat 'cursing and
depressed' by what appeared to be a deterioration. But 'then it begins
to happen': he suddenly saw things around him coming into focus and
consequently, he 'wept then, fully and freely'. During the journey
home, his sight continued to improve and he could 'see much farther
than ever before' and his eyes no longer hurt when confronted with
lights.

The
next morning, Hutton took hold of the newspaper and was reading it
until his wife pointed out what he was actually doing. His sight had
vastly improved together with the absence of the accompanying effects
of the poor vision as were the pains of his liver condition. He recalls
how his friends and colleagues were, not surprisingly amazed at how he,
'a pathetically short-sighted man', could now suddenly type with ease
without having to 'crouch over with my nose to the keyboard'. He
continues by recounting how further surprises were in store when
undressing that night, and he noticed 'a long mark, a thick line about
five inches long', that 'looked exactly like the scar of a surgical
incision just as I had had an operation on my liver'. He concludes the
record of his own healing by referring to how he later returned to Dr
Lang who told him the operation had been a success and adds: 'But I
didn't have to be told. I knew it. It was a miracle and it happened in
Aylesbury on a cold January day in 1964'.

It was, of course, this event that prompted Hutton to wholly abandon
his initial sceptical viewpoint and investigate George's mediumship,
resulting in his book, Healing Hands. Apart from the
fascinating interview with Dr Lang detailing something of his
post-mortem life and involvement in healing, the book includes
testimonies by people with such diverse backgrounds as the Chairman of
Psychic Press, a retired police superintendent, Member of Parliament,
matron, state registered nurse, laboratory technician and ex-miner.
Hutton selected patients at random and interviewed them, acquiring
written authorities to consult their hospital and doctor(s), and
obtaining their health records. He remarks: 'I succeeded eventually to
establish from the medical case histories that the patients had indeed
been classed "medically incurable", yet the latest records stated: all
tests established that no trace of the disease could be detected'. If
Hutton did not have enough evidence by this stage, he was about to gain
some more: when his book was about to be published, he was injured and
he refers to how 'the orthopedic surgeon decided my left leg must be
amputated'. Hutton arranged an appointment with Dr Lang and was
operated on by him, Basil and others. Afterwards, Dr Lang informed
Hutton, 'you won't lose your leg', adding that not only would
amputation be unnecessary, but he would not suffer any problems with
the leg either. Hutton then saw the hospital surgeon again and he
states that, 'Lang's forecast proved correct in every respect'. The
surgeon remarked that the recovery was 'incredible', and writing twelve
years later, Hutton confirmed that his leg had caused him no
problems.(24)

George moved from Aylesbury to Machynlleth in Wales,
where he continued his healing work; this was an area that Dr Lang had
often visited before he died. By the time of moving here, George had
already started to build up a collection of items belonging to both
William and Basil Lang.George recalls how Dr Lang has
taken special pride in telling visitors about some of the articles when
they came for healing through George's mediumship. In this respect,
George comments: 'I am surrounded by reminders of Dr Lang's presence.
He uses my body and, in return, I have use of most of his
belongings!'.(25)

After
fifty years from when he first engaged in spirit communication, George,
in his mid-seventies, continues his healing work, e.g. he travelled to
Norway earlier this year: moreover, he states, 'I have no intentions to
retire'.(26) His work is now shared with his son Michael, and the
significant point is the father-son partnership parallel in the two
worlds, i.e. as William Lang works through George, Basil Lang works
with Michael. Much of the administration, and contact and distant
healing, is now undertaken by Michael.

As Barbanell so rightly observed in Psychic News
(27 March 1976): 'When Spiritualism's history comes to be written, the
Lang/Chapman partnership which has brought health to thousands of
sufferers after their cases were called "hopeless", will contribute
some of its most illumined pages'.(27)